The difficulty here is to define the 'hardness': I can tell you that to me is easy, because it is, but player less experienced/with lower winrate will tell you that it is much harder. Small stakes online poker tournaments are fantastic fun.They can be frustrating at times — I'll give you that — but for the most part, it is difficult not to enjoy yourself while competing in one. If you're just starting out in online poker, you surely dream of becoming a winning player. The key is following the right path towards success, and putting in the work to get there. In this post, we list the 5 steps needed to become a winning online poker player. Do you have what it takes? Poker is one of the few online casino games that you somewhat control the odds of winning. You choose what hands you play and how you play them. If you want to succeed and win at cash games. By knowing these patterns, anybody could easily full and succeed the games. Shortly, the novelty wore off and video game manufacturers had to make more technical and hard video games, but, the patterns were actually shortly found in those video Agen Bandar Poker too.
If you are a good poker player, or even if you simply want to be good at the game, you'll know how important it is to take in information from all around you and apply it to your future moves.
After all, poker is a game of incomplete information. It's up to you to pick up on any clues you can find to ensure you know more than your opponents. Or at the very least, have a better idea of what's most likely to be true of the situation in which you find yourself.
Why should we restrict these learnings to poker, though? There are lessons you can learn from the game which you can practice and apply at the table, but there's no need to stop there.
The skills you develop at the poker table can serve you well in real life
1. Negotiating
If you've ever been in a pay review with your boss and just frozen up, you might need to play more poker. No, not at work while you're meant to be preparing a report. But playing the game away from the office can help you bring a poker mindset to places where that can benefit you.
You've probably been in a situation where you have the nuts and are trying to determine how big a river value bet your opponent will pay off. Maybe you'll try talking to them to get a feel for where their head is. That'll help you work out how much extra they'd be willing to part with.
Are you using your poker skills to get the best out of negotiations?
There's no reason you can't use the same skill-set in the meeting room to guarantee yourself some extra cash each month. All while making your boss feel as though they've got a pretty sweet deal out of it all.
During her talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, PokerStars ambassador Maria Konnikova pointed out another way in which poker can help in these negotiations: applying the logic of position at the poker table to give yourself last-mover advantage.
'Outside of poker you need to think... who are the people who have positional advantage on you, who are going to be making their decision second?' Konnikova says.
'There's always a second-mover advantage in any negotiation... when someone says 'how much would you like to make?', it would be very silly of you to say 'Well, this is what my salary expectations are'. Instead you should try to deflect it, get them to throw out the first number, because you don't want to anchor them too low. There's a huge benefit to be gained by position.'
2. Look back to look ahead
If you can teach yourself to think logically after a bad beat, you'll be able to recognise there's nothing you can do to turn back the clock. You'll also understand that going on tilt will likely harm your chances in the long run.
Konnikova values the concept of knowing oneself. This can prove beneficial in poker - like looking through your hand histories and acknowledging when you have made a mistake, rather than looking for easy excuses.
Turn your poker brain to other areas of your life. You may be able to stop yourself from doing something that only worsens the situation. Further down the line, you'll be able to thank your poker brain for setting your past self straight.
3. Understanding Risk
Konnikova also speaks of how 'It seems that trust is natural, that it's actually our default state, and it seems that it's distrust that is learned.'
Expanding on this in a poker context, she explains how making a big fold is the sign of a great poker player. Perhaps more than a big call. And that's due to the thought process which goes into determining when our opponents are being honest with us.
Applied to the real world, taking a leap of faith in trusting those around us can be greatly beneficial. But it's something we need to qualify through the information we have at our disposal.
The best way to apply poker thinking to real life can come from the speed with which we make mental calculations. For example, situations in which we've been conditioned to believe that someone might be exploiting us.
Poker thinking, therefore, help us quickly figure out when a salesperson is bending the truth and when they're being honest with us.
As Konnikova says, 'People who have higher levels of generalised trust tend to do better academically, they're happier, they're healthier, they take more risks, they start more businesses, they seem to be smarter.' These risks, however, often need to be calculated ones, using the information at our disposal.
4. Learning discipline
When you're playing poker, you know better than to play hands out of boredom. And you know when your stack size can make it sub-optimal to raise certain cards from certain positions.
If you can teach yourself the discipline and focus required to avoid these long-term losing plays, your results over a longer period will start to show an improvement.
Practicing discipline can give you an advantage
Similarly, in day-to-day life, you might be watching your macros and eating well to reach an end goal, be that weight loss, muscle gain or just general fitness.
As tempting as it can be to eat something you 'shouldn't', any short-term positive doesn't come close to the benefit you'll get once you hit your goal and have weeks of discipline to point to.
By teaching your brain patience and concentration, you can feel more comfortable forfeiting that short-term hit and ensuring you have what you need in the longer run.
5. Knowing which arguments you can afford to lose
In any relationships - be they romantic, platonic, or even between a worker and a boss - there will be a temptation to come out on top in every argument. Sometimes it's as simple as not wanting to give up any ground when you know you're right. However, poker can help you appreciate there's more to it than that.
You can be sure you're getting your money in good, but decide against it due to ICM considerations. Or turn down what you see as a 55-45 spot against a weak opponent because you're confident you'll be able to find a better spot further down the line.
This is the equivalent of recognising there's a time to give people small wins that won't disadvantage you too much, to earn yourself some leeway when you really need it.
Konnikova cites another poker player, the late Amarillo Slim, who said 'You can shear a sheep a lot of times, but you can only skin him once.' Some big decisions, in life and in poker, will only come so many times, so you need to identify the spots where you need to be right and those where the best strategy is to make small sacrifices to keep your ultimate goal alive.
With so much to learn, beginners to poker often feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start. It's difficult to grasp the concepts of poker in one fell swoop and learning takes time. This is why we've developed this study guide – to plan a course of study for beginners and to provide the structure that's so important when learning new skills.
We have a wide variety of poker lessons here at Pokerology.com and they don't all feature in this study guide. Instead, we've carefully selected the most appropriate lessons to help build your poker skills step-by-step and to provide a solid foundation upon which to build.
This study guide is split into various skill levels and each major section is followed by a quiz. If you're new to poker then we recommend you start by studying the lessons within our entry level.
We hope you enjoy learning how to play poker with Pokerlogy.com.
Entry Level
The following group of poker lessons provide an introduction to the game. You'll learn the basic rules, how the betting works, the different variations of poker, along with a few basic poker terms.
Please note: All links within this study guide will open in a new window by default.
Finished? If so, take the entry level quiz.
Beginner Level
The beginner level of this study guide will provide a solid foundation on which to build your poker skills.
If you studied our entry level lessons then you'll understand that there are many ways in which poker can be played. This means there isn't a poker course that will suit everyone. So, before we continue with more lessons let's discuss your options at this early stage of your development.
The first decision point is whether to play cash games or tournaments. As a beginner we believe cash games are your best bet. This is because the variance – what we call fluctuations in luck – is much higher in tournaments, so much so that it can take a very long time to determine if your tournament results are due to a lack of skill or simply a run of bad luck. Because the variance inherent in cash games is less, you should be able to assess whether it's your ability or simply a run of bad luck in a shorter time frame.
Once you've played cash games and seem to be making an improvement in them because you're studying, learning, and growing as a poker player, you should be able to move to tournaments with the assurance that your basic game is good. Once you know you play well, you can begin the make the adjustments that are required to play tournaments well.
It comes down to personal preference and it's entirely your choice. You may wish to supplement your learning as and when you're ready, but the poker lessons that are referenced in this study guide remain applicable to either format. Although we argue in favour of cash games for beginners, a combination of both would also work at this stage – giving you time to decide which challenge you'd prefer.
The next decision point is the variety of hold'em that you learn to play; either limit or no-limit. Many of our poker lessons focus on general concepts that will help you in either variation, but these games play very differently. Limit hold'em is well suited to beginners because it's a more mechanical and structured game. However, because no-limit hold'em is currently the most popular variation of poker, it will be the focus of this study guide.
With all this out of the way, let's move on and get back to the lessons. We'll start this section of the study guide with a look at the basics, including some simple betting concepts:
Knowing that you're eager to play, let's focus your efforts on the importance of choosing the right hands and introduce you to the concept of positional play with these two very important lessons:
The following resources should also help guide your understanding of these topics:
- No-Limit Hold'em Starting Hands Chart (PDF – print out or bookmark for easy reference)
You should now have an understanding of what starting hands to play in no-limit hold'em based on hand strength and your position. This next selection of poker lessons will provide further guidance on how and why you should play your starting hands.
Math is a key concept in poker. You don't have to be a math genius to succeed at poker, but knowing the math is essential. In the next group of lessons we'll cover basic poker concepts that will help you tell the difference between good bets and bad bets and put you on the road to playing profitable winning poker:
There's more to poker than math, so now it's time to introduce you to the psychology of poker:
How To Succeed At Online Poker For Beginners
As we approach the end of this section of the study guide, it's time we suggest you start playing poker for real money. Maybe you are already, if so, then great. It's important to reiterate that poker is a game of money played with cards and there needs to be something at stake, even if it's only pennies. If you've yet to make the transition to real money poker, we suggest you start now – but only at stakes you can afford. This is also an appropriate time to introduce you to the fundamental poker concept of bankroll management:
How To Succeed At Online Poker Without
And here's our final lesson of this section:
Finished? If so, take the beginner level poker quiz.
Intermediate Level
There's no reason you can't use the same skill-set in the meeting room to guarantee yourself some extra cash each month. All while making your boss feel as though they've got a pretty sweet deal out of it all.
During her talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, PokerStars ambassador Maria Konnikova pointed out another way in which poker can help in these negotiations: applying the logic of position at the poker table to give yourself last-mover advantage.
'Outside of poker you need to think... who are the people who have positional advantage on you, who are going to be making their decision second?' Konnikova says.
'There's always a second-mover advantage in any negotiation... when someone says 'how much would you like to make?', it would be very silly of you to say 'Well, this is what my salary expectations are'. Instead you should try to deflect it, get them to throw out the first number, because you don't want to anchor them too low. There's a huge benefit to be gained by position.'
2. Look back to look ahead
If you can teach yourself to think logically after a bad beat, you'll be able to recognise there's nothing you can do to turn back the clock. You'll also understand that going on tilt will likely harm your chances in the long run.
Konnikova values the concept of knowing oneself. This can prove beneficial in poker - like looking through your hand histories and acknowledging when you have made a mistake, rather than looking for easy excuses.
Turn your poker brain to other areas of your life. You may be able to stop yourself from doing something that only worsens the situation. Further down the line, you'll be able to thank your poker brain for setting your past self straight.
3. Understanding Risk
Konnikova also speaks of how 'It seems that trust is natural, that it's actually our default state, and it seems that it's distrust that is learned.'
Expanding on this in a poker context, she explains how making a big fold is the sign of a great poker player. Perhaps more than a big call. And that's due to the thought process which goes into determining when our opponents are being honest with us.
Applied to the real world, taking a leap of faith in trusting those around us can be greatly beneficial. But it's something we need to qualify through the information we have at our disposal.
The best way to apply poker thinking to real life can come from the speed with which we make mental calculations. For example, situations in which we've been conditioned to believe that someone might be exploiting us.
Poker thinking, therefore, help us quickly figure out when a salesperson is bending the truth and when they're being honest with us.
As Konnikova says, 'People who have higher levels of generalised trust tend to do better academically, they're happier, they're healthier, they take more risks, they start more businesses, they seem to be smarter.' These risks, however, often need to be calculated ones, using the information at our disposal.
4. Learning discipline
When you're playing poker, you know better than to play hands out of boredom. And you know when your stack size can make it sub-optimal to raise certain cards from certain positions.
If you can teach yourself the discipline and focus required to avoid these long-term losing plays, your results over a longer period will start to show an improvement.
Practicing discipline can give you an advantage
Similarly, in day-to-day life, you might be watching your macros and eating well to reach an end goal, be that weight loss, muscle gain or just general fitness.
As tempting as it can be to eat something you 'shouldn't', any short-term positive doesn't come close to the benefit you'll get once you hit your goal and have weeks of discipline to point to.
By teaching your brain patience and concentration, you can feel more comfortable forfeiting that short-term hit and ensuring you have what you need in the longer run.
5. Knowing which arguments you can afford to lose
In any relationships - be they romantic, platonic, or even between a worker and a boss - there will be a temptation to come out on top in every argument. Sometimes it's as simple as not wanting to give up any ground when you know you're right. However, poker can help you appreciate there's more to it than that.
You can be sure you're getting your money in good, but decide against it due to ICM considerations. Or turn down what you see as a 55-45 spot against a weak opponent because you're confident you'll be able to find a better spot further down the line.
This is the equivalent of recognising there's a time to give people small wins that won't disadvantage you too much, to earn yourself some leeway when you really need it.
Konnikova cites another poker player, the late Amarillo Slim, who said 'You can shear a sheep a lot of times, but you can only skin him once.' Some big decisions, in life and in poker, will only come so many times, so you need to identify the spots where you need to be right and those where the best strategy is to make small sacrifices to keep your ultimate goal alive.
With so much to learn, beginners to poker often feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start. It's difficult to grasp the concepts of poker in one fell swoop and learning takes time. This is why we've developed this study guide – to plan a course of study for beginners and to provide the structure that's so important when learning new skills.
We have a wide variety of poker lessons here at Pokerology.com and they don't all feature in this study guide. Instead, we've carefully selected the most appropriate lessons to help build your poker skills step-by-step and to provide a solid foundation upon which to build.
This study guide is split into various skill levels and each major section is followed by a quiz. If you're new to poker then we recommend you start by studying the lessons within our entry level.
We hope you enjoy learning how to play poker with Pokerlogy.com.
Entry Level
The following group of poker lessons provide an introduction to the game. You'll learn the basic rules, how the betting works, the different variations of poker, along with a few basic poker terms.
Please note: All links within this study guide will open in a new window by default.
Finished? If so, take the entry level quiz.
Beginner Level
The beginner level of this study guide will provide a solid foundation on which to build your poker skills.
If you studied our entry level lessons then you'll understand that there are many ways in which poker can be played. This means there isn't a poker course that will suit everyone. So, before we continue with more lessons let's discuss your options at this early stage of your development.
The first decision point is whether to play cash games or tournaments. As a beginner we believe cash games are your best bet. This is because the variance – what we call fluctuations in luck – is much higher in tournaments, so much so that it can take a very long time to determine if your tournament results are due to a lack of skill or simply a run of bad luck. Because the variance inherent in cash games is less, you should be able to assess whether it's your ability or simply a run of bad luck in a shorter time frame.
Once you've played cash games and seem to be making an improvement in them because you're studying, learning, and growing as a poker player, you should be able to move to tournaments with the assurance that your basic game is good. Once you know you play well, you can begin the make the adjustments that are required to play tournaments well.
It comes down to personal preference and it's entirely your choice. You may wish to supplement your learning as and when you're ready, but the poker lessons that are referenced in this study guide remain applicable to either format. Although we argue in favour of cash games for beginners, a combination of both would also work at this stage – giving you time to decide which challenge you'd prefer.
The next decision point is the variety of hold'em that you learn to play; either limit or no-limit. Many of our poker lessons focus on general concepts that will help you in either variation, but these games play very differently. Limit hold'em is well suited to beginners because it's a more mechanical and structured game. However, because no-limit hold'em is currently the most popular variation of poker, it will be the focus of this study guide.
With all this out of the way, let's move on and get back to the lessons. We'll start this section of the study guide with a look at the basics, including some simple betting concepts:
Knowing that you're eager to play, let's focus your efforts on the importance of choosing the right hands and introduce you to the concept of positional play with these two very important lessons:
The following resources should also help guide your understanding of these topics:
- No-Limit Hold'em Starting Hands Chart (PDF – print out or bookmark for easy reference)
You should now have an understanding of what starting hands to play in no-limit hold'em based on hand strength and your position. This next selection of poker lessons will provide further guidance on how and why you should play your starting hands.
Math is a key concept in poker. You don't have to be a math genius to succeed at poker, but knowing the math is essential. In the next group of lessons we'll cover basic poker concepts that will help you tell the difference between good bets and bad bets and put you on the road to playing profitable winning poker:
There's more to poker than math, so now it's time to introduce you to the psychology of poker:
How To Succeed At Online Poker For Beginners
As we approach the end of this section of the study guide, it's time we suggest you start playing poker for real money. Maybe you are already, if so, then great. It's important to reiterate that poker is a game of money played with cards and there needs to be something at stake, even if it's only pennies. If you've yet to make the transition to real money poker, we suggest you start now – but only at stakes you can afford. This is also an appropriate time to introduce you to the fundamental poker concept of bankroll management:
How To Succeed At Online Poker Without
And here's our final lesson of this section:
Finished? If so, take the beginner level poker quiz.
Intermediate Level
This section of our study guide will introduce you to various poker concepts and strategies that will take your game to the next level.
The following lessons are those we consider to be the most important at this stage of your development. Remember, there are many more poker lessons on Pokerology.com, which you can also study – but these are the ones that we believe will help get you to the next level in the fastest possible time.
The first group of poker lessons are important concepts in no-limit hold'em:
Here is a selection of poker lessons that focus on post-flop betting strategies:
The following two lessons cover two very important concepts that will get you thinking about maximizing your profits, which is the key to successful poker:
This next group of poker lessons are all about ‘playing the player' and provide effective strategies for playing against different types of poker players:
If you have followed this study guide from the beginning you should now have amassed a wealth of knowledge on the subject of poker. There's still much more to learn, but the next step is to make sure you plug any leaks that reside in your game. Therefore our final group of lessons all focus on the winning poker skills:
Finished? If so, take the intermediate level poker quiz
Minnesota Fats, the legendary American pool hustler, was once asked about the technical aspects of billiards in order to improve one's play. His response was, 'Ya' just gotta hit balls and balls and balls – and you'll learn'. In that regard poker is much the same. The concepts we've presented throughout this poker course should help you think about how to play poker, but you need to play and play and play to truly understand and excel at the game.
How To Succeed At Online Poker For Dummies
Further Learning
The learning never stops at Pokerology.com!
The intention of this study guide has been to teach the fundamentals of winning poker. We deliberately streamlined this guide and excluded many of the poker lessons on Pokerology.com. This means there is still lots to learn, but at this stage of your development it's less important for us to provide you with structure and guidance. The best advice we can give is to continue playing poker and browse our poker lessons at your leisure, picking out the topics that you think will benefit your game the most.
How To Be Successful At Online Poker
Don't forget that there is more than one game in town and no-limit hold'em is just one of them. Many players stick to the game they initially learned, but a true poker player feels right at home with other poker variations. We therefore recommend you learn how to play limit hold'em, along with variations such as stud, Omaha, and razz. You'll find lessons on all these variations of poker right here at Pokerology.com!
How To Succeed At Online Poker Free
